Mourinho ‘desperately wanted’ new Schalke striker

Schalke director Christian Heidel has said the Bundesliga club had to move quickly to stop Manchester United from signing Breel Embolo.

The Red Devils were part of a cheeky video from Schalke which announced the arrival of the Switzerland international from Basle in June and director Heidel has once again reminded Manchester United on what they have missed out on.

“There are a number of reasons why we signed Embolo,” Heidel told the official Bundesliga website.

“First and foremost there are sporting reasons. It’s nothing new that he is a great player. There is a reason why Mourinho desperately wanted to sign him for Manchester United.

“When we realised there was a possibility that we could miss out on signing him due to other clubs’ interest, we had to move fast.

“President Clemens Tonnies happily made his plane available. We flew out to Montpellier at 1300 CET and returned five hours later. We had wrapped up the deal in that short period.”